Tennis 2K2 is a carbon copy of the excellent the Dreamcast version in nearly every way. The DualShock 2 works well for controlling the tennis pro of your choice (or making), and load times seem to be about the same. Unlike the original Virtua Tennis, Tennis 2k2 provides more varity to the various standard shots and lobs, and hitting a variety of angles should be not a problem after playing for a while. Tennis 2K2 is very playable game, and definitely does not require much in the line of real tennis experience to both play and have fun with.

Audio is crisp and clear, and overall, is a great aural reproduction of the game of Tennis. Playing a less important lower level match, on a grass court, absolutely sounds different than playing a championship match, packed with spectators which appropriately groan and cheer, in an arena. The music is mostly forgettable techno stuff, but isn't bad.

Graphically, well, this is where the differences rear their somewhat ugly heads. The PlayStation 2 version generally looks pretty good, although decidely 1st generation. The textures are of a lower quality than the Dreamcast original, and fast horizontal panning movements and disc accesses cause that eye-grating "resolution halfing" phenomenom. On the upside, the framerate stays at 60fps, the character models and animation are still really nice, and the shadows and lighting seem to be improved. Most of the problems aren't as obvious after putting in an adequate amount of playtime, but the game could have looked so much more polished. Being Hitmakers' first real PlayStation 2 game, I think the issues can be chalked up to inexperience with the hardware. The game is not "ugly" by any means, but there are just a few annoying issues present, that most PS2 developers have already overcome.

The modes are pretty straight forward, with World Tour really being the focus. World Tour is a bit more RPG-like this time around, allowing you to create, train and enter your players in tournaments. After creating and outfitting both a male and female character, you then must travel the globe and choose an action to partake in on each day. If a tournament or match is available for that day (by using the calendar), and you are ranked high enough to enter it, you can. Winning will earn you cash and a higher ranking, which can then be used to purchase better equipment, outfits, doubles partners, and so forth. If you opt not to play a tournament for any given day, you can send one of your 2 characters to train, in an effort to boost their stats. Training consists of playing a mini-game catered to either Serving, Footwork, Strokes or Volleys. Attacking a group of tanks by returning tennis balls, or knocking down bowling pins, are 2 examples.

The multiplayer mode is also worth a mention, since it supports 4 players simultaneously. Since the game is so easy to pick up and play, playing a doubles match againsts others is definitely a whole lot of fun for all.

Those looking for an excellent playing single or multi-player tennis title for the PlayStation 2, should definitely give Sega Sports Tennis a try. Being that the game is really just a direct port of the Dreamcast version, I obviously would not recommend it to those who own the Dreamcast version.